Hi everyone, could you please give me some advice.  My friend has just bought a cavi puppy, taken it to the vets - apparently he is 8 weeks old and has a heart murmur.  What does this actually mean?  Many thanks.

At 8 weeks it may be an innocmet murmer that will go when he gets a little older, but with Cavaliers ahving hereditary heart problems I woudl be more worried.

The important thing is to know the heart status of his parents and grandparents.  If they were all murmer free at age five plus the chances are better that this is an innocent murmer that will not be there in a few weeks.

Many young puppies have a heart murmur that disappears within a few weeks. However Cavaliers have a major problem with heart trouble in the breed - did your friend see the certificates showing that the sire and dam had healthy hearts?

My Gordon Setter had a heart murmur when he was a puppy.  The vets scanned to ensure it was any serious heart defect which it wasn't.

He never had any troubles with exercise etc.  And now at just under 2 a vet listened to his heart and the murmur has gone.

So worth getting checked thoroughly but like others have said it is likely that he will grow out of it.

I too was so worried initially and his breeder was too - offered to take him back but no way!!

I would recommend it being checked though to be sure.

I wouldn't be worried if it was any other breed!   Is the puppy from heart tested parents/grandparents etc?

Puppy murmurs are no more serious  in Cavaliers than any other breed IMHE usually by the second vaccination visit to the vets will have disappeared

My now eldest cavalier had a puppy murmur & it disappeared & now aged nearly 10 he has MVD his father/mother etc all MVD clear & his G father died aged 16 1/2 with a clear heart. MVD & puppy murmurs are not the same

http://www.cavalierhealth.net/mitral_valve_disease.htm